Hello everyone! If you have been able to enjoy a spring or Easter break recently then we hope you have had a lovely time.
For this week’s blog, we thought we would do a bit of mythbusting around the application and allocations process.
1. I will definitely live on campus in my first year.
False. 13% of our undergraduate bedspaces (20% for postgraduate) are in off-campus residences, but these are still within easy walking distance. Remember – Exeter is a small city and being off-campus does not mean you will miss our on student life. These off-campus residences make up large communities in themselves, for example at St David’s, James Owen Court and Rowancroft.
2. The accommodation guarantee means that I am guaranteed to get one of my preferences.
False. We will try to meet one of your preferences but applications for the most popular residences do exceed the number of beds available, so there is a possibility we won’t be able to allocate you to any of your preferences. Based on previous data from the past 4 years, between 10-20% of applicants were not allocated to any of their preferences. Our guarantee is a guarantee of a bed space. If you want to find out more about the popularity of each residence, you can take a look at our application ratio tables which are based on last year’s intake.
3. I will definitely get a self-catered room if all of my preferences are self-catered.
False. Last year, 83% of applications had self-catered as their first choice, but only 78% of our rooms were in self-catered residences. If we have filled our self-catered bedspaces then we may have to offer you a room in catered accommodation.
4. I will definitely get an en-suite room if all my preferences are for en-suites.
False. En-suite rooms are currently the most popular type – last year, 82% of applications had en-suite as their first preference but only 70% of all our beds were in en-suite rooms.
5. If I already have my grades because I deferred my entry and I apply early, then I will definitely get my top choice.
False. We will only allocate to a threshold level of rooms in each residence which is based on number of Unconditional Firm offers made by the University and the percentage of accommodation applications received. This means that we do not fill all rooms within our residences before A levels are released, but it also means that due to demand levels we cannot guarantee that you will receive one of your preferences.
6. If I play sport / get high grades then I will definitely live on campus.
False. These are not factors which we take into consideration when allocating rooms. Our Room allocation process gives you much more information about what we do/do not consider.
7. I hear that X residence has a reputation for being a party residence.
False. Remember that each year a residence gets a fresh intake of students so you cannot compare one year to another. Also, we don’t know the personality or hobbies/interests of the student when we allocate them, and this is deliberate to encourage a diverse community within our residences and help support important life skills such as co-existing with a range of people.
We hope that by clearing up these rumours you will be able to make informed choices for your accommodation application.
Thanks for reading and we will be back with a new topic next week.
Accommodation Meridith